


A Very Barba Halloween

by blk0912



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, mirbarsonoah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26851378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blk0912/pseuds/blk0912
Summary: Halloween in the Barba household results in Rafael agreeing to something he never saw himself doing
Relationships: Rafael Barba & Noah Porter Benson, Rafael Barba & Olivia Benson, Rafael Barba/Olivia Benson
Comments: 6
Kudos: 44





	A Very Barba Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> So, apparently I now write one-shots between updating my WIP 😂 This resulted from a Twitter discussion where I asked for writing inspiration.   
> Special thanks to motherbearof3 for the idea of Miranda's costume and to Hasbleidy for helping me with the Spanish.  
> This got a little sappy towards the end, but I hope you all enjoy anyway! 😊

* * *

“Daddy!” 

Walking into the apartment he shared with his wife and their two kids, Rafael was nearly knocked over by the purple blur that was his daughter. Chuckling, he set his bag down and lifted her into his arms, pressing a noisy kiss to her cheek to make her laugh. 

“Where are Mommy and Noah?” he asked her. 

“Looking at Halloween costumes.”

“You haven’t decided yet?”

“ _ I _ did.”

“Hmm...let me guess...Eeyore?”

Miranda laughed and shook her head. 

“Piglet?”

“No,” Miranda replied with another laugh.

Rafael sighed dramatically. “I give up. What did you decide on,  _ mi corazoncito _ ?”

“Lumpy!” 

“Ah. Lumpy. That was my next guess.”

Miranda giggled as she laid her head on his shoulder. “You missed breakfast.”

Rafael turned his head to press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry,  _ mija _ . I had an early meeting.”

“Story tonight?” 

“Of course,” Rafael promised as he walked with her into the living room.

* * *

“Did you find a Halloween costume,  _ mijo _ ?” Rafael asked as he took a seat on the couch next to Noah and settled Miranda in his lap.

“Winnie the Pooh,” Noah replied. “ _ Abuelita _ said she would make our costumes.”

“You and Miranda are going to match?”

Noah nodded. “Mom said she would dress up with us, too, but only if you do. So...will you? Pleeeease?”

“Please, Daddy?” Miranda asked, looking up at her father.

Rafael looked between Noah’s blue eyes and Miranda’s brown ones and knew he was going to agree to whatever they wanted to keep the hopeful look in them. “What did you have in mind?” he asked with a sigh. He knew without looking that Olivia was trying, and failing, to hold back a knowing smile. She knew he wouldn’t deny the kids anything if it was within his power to give it to them.

“You can be Rabbit and Mom can be Kanga,” Noah decided, looking to Miranda for confirmation. 

“Yes!” Miranda exclaimed. 

* * *

After putting both kids to bed, Rafael slid into bed beside Olivia and laid his head on her shoulder. 

“What’s wrong, Rafa?” she asked with a laugh.

“You’re teaching our children bad habits.”

Olivia laughed. “I’m doing no such thing. Who would have thought the great ADA Barba would be brought down by his eight and five year old children?”

“That’s EADA Barba, thank you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. _ EADA _ Barba was brought down by the pleading of his eight and five year old children.”

“I think that sounds worse,” Rafael grumbled.

Olivia leaned her head against his, lifting it again as she spoke. “I think it’s sweet. Definitely very endearing.”

Rafael’s lips twitched, fighting a smile as he lifted his head to look at his wife.. “Oh really. Endearing to  _ whom _ exactly,  _ mi vida _ ?”

“I’ll give you one guess.”

“Hmm…” Rafael began, pretending to be deep in thought as he brushed Olivia’s hair back and began to press kisses down her neck.

“Rafa,” Olivia said a little breathlessly. “That’s not guessing. That’s being distracting.”

“Hush. I’m thinking.”

Olivia closed her eyes and tilted her head back to give him better access. Running her fingers through his hair, she half-heartedly attempted to pull his head back. She felt him smile against her skin as he kissed a path back up the other side of her neck. 

“Did you...oh God....think of an....answer...yet?”

“Nope. Need more time to think,” Rafael replied, tugging her shirt up and off, making her forget their earlier conversation.

* * *

As he was tying his tie the next morning, Rafael felt arms wrap around his waist and a chin rest on his shoulder. 

“You may have distracted me last night,  _ mi amor _ , but you never answered my question,” Olivia said, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,  _ mi alma _ ,” he replied, quickly finishing his task and then turning to wrap his arms around Olivia’s waist.

“Time’s up, Rafa. You have to tell me your guess.”

“Or what?” Rafael challenged, raising an eyebrow at her.

Olivia smiled innocently. “Or pictures of you dressed up as Rabbit may circulate the DA’s office.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Are you willing to take that risk?”

“Evil woman.”

Olivia laughed. “That’s not what you were saying last night.”

“I’m not going to win this one, am I?” Rafael asked with a sigh.

“Nope.”

“Can my answer have two parts?”

“I suppose.”

“Fine. It will endear me to  _ you _ , and it will also make  _ both _ of our children happy.”

Olivia framed his face with her hands and then pressed her lips to his. “Correct.”

“What do I win?”

“Date night with your amazing wife?”

Rafael smiled. “When is this date night going to occur?”

“Next Saturday. I talked to your mom. She’s going to take the kids for the night.”

“Is this one of those Saturday nights where she then makes brunch the next morning and we pick the kids up then?”

“It is.”

“ _ Perfecto _ .”

Olivia kissed him again. “ _ Te amo _ .”

Rafael rested his forehead against hers, enjoying the surely soon to be interrupted moment of closeness with her. “ _ Te amo _ .”

* * *

“Olivia, I look ridiculous. There is no way I’m going out like this,” Rafael complained. “How did you find this, anyway?”

“Not telling,” Olivia replied, barely containing her laughter as she raised the hood on his costume. “You look adorable.”

“ _ Adorable _ is a word to describe our children, not me in this... _ thing _ .”

Olivia put her hand over her mouth as a last-ditch effort to control her laughter. “Rafa, you wear some of the most ridiculous ties I’ve ever seen and yet you have a problem putting on a  _ costume _ for your children?”

“My ties are not  _ ridiculous _ , Olivia.”

At Rafael’s indignant look, Olivia lost the battle to control her laughter and burst into giggles, her shoulders shaking. “It’s not my fault...you can’t...say no...to our children.”

“Says the one dressed as a  _ canguro _ ,” Rafael retorted, which only made Olivia laugh harder.

“What’s going on in here?” Lucia asked as she followed Noah and Miranda into the room.

“ _ Tu hijo se está comportando como un gran bebé _ ,” Olivia replied, wiping tears from her eyes.

Lucia raised an eyebrow at her son, who sighed and crossed his arms, making Olivia dissolve into a fresh bout of laughter. “ _ Me veo  _ **_ridículo_ ** _. _ ”

“ _ Es tu culpa, mijo _ ,” Lucia reminded him.

“ _ Gracias por nada,  _ Mami.”

“Mommy, Daddy, look!” Miranda exclaimed, gaining the attention of all three adults.

“Now  _ this _ is what I call adorable,” Rafael said, lifting Miranda into his arms. “Did you say ‘thank you’ to  _ Abuelita _ ?”

“Yes.”

“Do you like mine?” Noah asked his parents.

Rafael shifted Miranda to his hip and held out a hand for Noah, who immediately walked over to his side and wrapped his arms around Rafael’s lower arm. Looking over at Olivia, who had now stopped laughing, he shared a look with her that said  _ our kids _ .

Smiling, Olivia walked over to her family, pressing a kiss to Miranda’s head as she passed by and then putting an arm around Rafael and Noah. 

“I need a picture of this,” Lucia declared.

“ _ One _ ,” Rafael agreed, handing his mother his phone. “And it doesn’t leave this apartment.”

* * *

After taking the kids trick-or-treating around the apartment building, Olivia and Rafael let them each choose one piece of candy to eat before they had to take their costumes off and take a bath. Once they had each had a bath and changed into their pajamas, all four Barbas gathered in Rafael and Olivia’s bed to read the story. Miranda and Noah seated between Rafael and Olivia. 

“What did you choose, sweet girl?” Olivia asked her daughter. 

“Lovey wanted a bear story,” Miranda replied, hugging her stuffed bear close. The bear had been a present from Lucia the first night the little girl had stayed with them. 

“And Eddie wanted a Halloween story,” Noah added.

“ _ The Berenstain Bears Trick or Treat _ ,” Rafael began, reading the book’s title before launching into the story.

* * *

“Should we move them?” Olivia whispered a short while later, nodding toward the two sleeping children. 

“They look pretty comfortable,” Rafael replied with a shrug.

Olivia smiled. “You’re such a softie, Rafa.”

Rafael reached across their children for her hand, lacing their fingers together. “Only with the three of you. When you finally agreed to that drink with me, I had no idea that night would lead to  _ this _ .”

Olivia squeezed his hand. “Me, neither, Not really. I hoped that we could make  _ us _ work, that you would want to be a father to Noah. I didn’t foresee Miranda, though.”

“No regrets?”

Olivia smiled at him. “None whatsoever. You?”

“Not one. You were meant to find Noah, we were meant to find each other, and ultimately, find Miranda.”

“More like  _ she  _ found  _ us _ ,” Olivia corrected with a quiet laugh.

Rafael smiled at the memory. He, Olivia, and Noah had been attending a carnival put on by Lucia’s church and Miranda had immediately latched onto them. She and Noah hit it off immediately, and she had felt like part of their family from the moment they met. When they found out she was an orphan who was staying at a local group home, Rafael had convinced the head of the group home to let them take Miranda home with them. They had fostered her for six months before officially adopting her. 

“I love you, Livia. You  _ and _ our kids. Our life.”

“I love you, too, Rafa...and our family. Let’s enjoy cuddling with them while they still want to.”

Rafael smiled and nodded, squeezing Olivia’s hand before closing his eyes. 

* * *

The next morning, Rafael woke to find Miranda sitting on his stomach with her head tilted as she looked at him.

“Pancakes?” she asked when she saw his eyes open.

“ _ Mija _ , we had pancakes yesterday.”

“Waffles? Please, Daddy?”

“If you want waffles, you need to let me up.”

Miranda giggled, holding Lovey close as she carefully slid down from the bed. Standing, Rafael took her hand and led her out to the kitchen. “Let’s let Mommy and Noah sleep.”

“Can I help?” 

“Sure. But how about you put Lovey on the couch or in your room, first?”

Miranda nodded, quickly running down the hall to put Lovey in her room and then rushing back to Rafael’s side. 

Grabbing his and Miranda’s aprons from the cupboard, Rafael quickly put his on before helping Miranda with hers. 

* * *

By the time she joined her family in the kitchen, Olivia could smell the coffee and waffles. She smiled gratefully when Rafael handed her the cup he’d prepared just the way she liked. 

“Last waffle will be done soon, time to go wash up,  _ mijos _ ,” Rafael said. 

“Help,” Miranda said, the string of her apron now in a knot.

Olivia chuckled, walking over to her daughter and quickly untying the knot before helping her out of it. Laying it over the back of the barstool she had just been occupying, she took advantage of the kids’ absence to steal a kiss from Rafael. 

“Sticking with the Disney theme, I see,” she commented, seeing the Mickey Mouse waffles on the nearby plates.

Rafael shrugged. “Seemed fitting.”

“Hmm. It wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain brown-eyed brunette Disney-loving child of yours, would it?”

“ _ Ours _ , Livia.  _ Ours _ ,” Rafael corrected, stealing another quick kiss. “But you know the answer to that.”

“Mm. I know  _ both _ of  _ our _ children love Disney and this is the first weekend in far too long that we’ve  _ both  _ been home both mornings, so you wanted to make it special.”

“Disney was also our first family vacation.”

“Miranda’s never been.”

“Not yet.”

Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. “Why do I get the feeling there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Rafael shrugged. “I may have arranged for time off for both of us so we could spend a couple of weeks in Miami this spring. My family invited us…”

Seeing the little bit of insecurity in Rafael’s body language, Olivia quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Two weeks of spring in Miami sounds amazing.”

“Yeah?”

Olivia pulled back and smiled at him. “Yeah. I just have one request.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s find our  _ own _ place to stay.”

Rafael chuckled. “Deal. Actually, there’s a house within walking distance of the beach that Rita was looking at. She wanted to know if we wanted to buy it with her and Fin.”

“Show me later?”

“Of course.”

“Is it time for waffles now?” Miranda asked as she and Noah returned.

“Yes. Now, go take your seats,” Rafael answered, grabbing the two kids’ plates. “Livia, could you grab their cups?”

Olivia smiled and nodded, grabbing the matching cups and following Rafael to the small dining area. As soon as the kids were settled, they both returned to the kitchen to grab their own food and drinks before joining their kids at the table. As the two kids talked excitedly about their trick-or-treating adventure last night and the various activities they’d done at school that week, Rafael and Olivia shared a smile. Mornings like these, just the four of them, were their favorite. 


End file.
